I recommend learning how to meditate before you go. I attempted a 10 day vipasana as a complete beginner and with insufficient research, and assumed it would be some kind of "course". Instead we were instructed on what to meditate on (first day is literally "feel the breath entering your nose"), and then expected to sit still and meditate for 11 hours a day. This vipasana (Kathmandu, late 2011) had no "optional sessions", and no additional instructions. As a complete beginner I was disappointed and frustrated - was I doing it right, is there no technique to be taught, or tips to be given?

The analogy I'd give is if I'd joined a 10 day fitness camp and the only instruction was "do deadlifts", and then you were left alone for 11 hours. What's a deadlift? Is this the right form? After an hour I feel like I've exhausted these muscles, do I really just keep doing it for ten more hours today?

After three days of this, (each day having a slightly more specific focus but still lacking in the kind of direction or confirmation I was looking for), I left. I was a stone's throw from the Himalayas, and I felt that spending my remaining time in the mountains would do more for me than sitting in a dark room feeling confused and frustrated.

I can't answer how to learn to meditate, I haven't followed it up (once burnt, twice shy). But you could try the vipasana way at home - sit in a quiet room and "feel the breath entering your nose" for an hour.

You don't have to learn anything, but it's a fairly big step to go straight for a long sit. See http://www.dhamma.org for info on intensive Vipassana courses.

For something a bit easier that you can do at home, check out this self guided course: http://palousemindfulness.com/selfguidedMBSR_week1.html

I've been meditating off and on for most of my life, and it's probably been the best thing I've done for myself. Reading is a good way to go for some, and the book Mindfulness in Plain English [1] is a place good start. His other books are really good, too. Especially "The Four Foundations of Mindfulness". There are many other good books about meditation, so feel free to look around. Spend some time at a book store and see what strikes you.

When I was starting out I especially liked Shinzen Young's [2] teaching style a lot. He's been meditating for a long time, taught math and comparative religions at a university, and he does an excellent job of presenting Eastern meditation in a way that an educated Westerner can understand.

There are a lot of resources available online, but you might try poking around in the Something's Happening [3] radio archives for KPFK. Tuesday and Thursday night they play talks from Alan Watts, Shinzen Young, and a lot of other people. Some of the talks are extremely hokey, full of New Age gibberish, but some of them are really good and it's a good way to get exposed to a range of teachers. Go to the archive page and search for "Something's Happening" and give it a try. There's also an Alan Watts program that good, too.

[1] http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html [2] https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=shinzen+young [3] http://archive.kpfk.org/

I had never mediated before...A few instances of 20 minutes that were guided, but never 'for real'. I went in not really knowing what I would be asked to do or how it worked. For me, that worked wonderfully.

I generally tend to fail magnificently at first and then flourish very quickly after making all the rookie mistakes all at once.

If you have questions, don't be afraid to use the question sessions to speak to your teacher. If it seems like the instructions are too simple, you might be overthinking it. It's all about letting go after all.